Clarendon House Publications

11/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

TODAY: The Red-Headed League by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

December 1st: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
December 2nd: A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce
December 3rd: The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
December 4th: The Two Bottles of Relish by Lord Dunsany
December 5th: A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac
December 6th: a Golden Voucher offering a discount on Clarendon House services�December 7th: The Lost Kafoozalum Part One by Pauline Ashwell�December 8th: The Lost Kafoozalum Part Two by Pauline Ashwell�December 9th: The Lost Kafoozalum Part Three by Pauline Ashwell
December 10th: The Sword Sundergost Illustrated Companion by Alexander Marshall

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gifts!

Merry Christmas one and all!

11/12/2024

We’ve all read good books, seen good films, been entertained by good music or admired great works of art. But have you ever wondered why these things work on us? What is the principle underlying their success? There’s a fundamental, prime factor at work here about which you probably won’t have learned much at school…

We’ve all read good books, seen good films, been entertained by good music or admired great works of art. But have you ever wondered why these things work on us? What is the principle underlying their success? There’s a fundamental, prime factor at work here about which you probably won’t have...

10/12/2024

The subject of creativity is surrounded by so much mystery and there is so much advice out there about how to be creative that it is easy to get overwhelmed by the whole question. Too often people fall into the following traps…

The subject of creativity is surrounded by so much mystery and there is so much advice out there about how to be creative that it is easy to get overwhelmed by the whole question. Too often people fall into the following traps: a) They conclude that their favourite rock star, painter, author or othe...

10/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

TODAY: The Sword Sundergost Illustrated Companion by Alexander Marshall

December 1st: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
December 2nd: A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce
December 3rd: The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
December 4th: The Two Bottles of Relish by Lord Dunsany
December 5th: A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac
December 6th: a Golden Voucher offering a discount on Clarendon House services
December 7th: The Lost Kafoozalum Part One by Pauline Ashwell
December 8th: The Lost Kafoozalum Part Two by Pauline Ashwell
December 9th: The Lost Kafoozalum Part Three by Pauline Ashwell

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gifts!

Merry Christmas one and all!

09/12/2024

Readers of my books How Stories Really Work, Myth & the ‘Now’ and 7 Secrets of Successful Stories will be familiar with the concept of the Seven Character Archetypes, which I will list here for the sake of convenience…

Readers of my books How Stories Really Work, Myth & the ‘Now’ and 7 Secrets of Successful Stories will be familiar with the concept of the Seven Character Archetypes, which I will list here for the sake of convenience:The AntagonistThe Shadow ProtagonistThe Submerged CompanionThe ProtagonistThe ...

07/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

TODAY: The Lost Kafoozalum Part One by Pauline Ashwell

December 1st: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
December 2nd: A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce
December 3rd: The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
December 4th: The Two Bottles of Relish by Lord Dunsany
December 5th: A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac
December 6th: a Golden Voucher offering a discount on Clarendon House services

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gifts!

Merry Christmas one and all!

07/12/2024

You’ve probably heard of the distinction made between those who write stories by planning them out step by step, and those who ‘make things up as they go along’ — the ‘planners’ and ‘pantsers’ as they are colloquially known.
There may be another distinction, not quite parallel with this, along the lines of those who write in a linear fashion and those who write in a latitudinal way…

You’ve probably heard of the distinction made between those who write stories by planning them out step by step, and those who ‘make things up as they go along’ — the ‘planners’ and ‘pantsers’ as they are colloquially known.There may be another distinction, not quite parallel with th...

06/12/2024

Your weekly newsletter is here!
https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/single-post/your-weekly-newsletter-is-here-113

06/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

TODAY: a Golden Voucher entitling the bearer to a 10% discount on Clarendon House proofreading and editing services

December 1st: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
December 2nd: A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce
December 3rd: The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
December 4th: The Two Bottles of Relish by Lord Dunsany
December 5th: A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gifts!

Merry Christmas one and all!

06/12/2024

A story could be defined as a metaphor for a movement that leads to some kind of change, as played out by archetypal figures we call ‘characters’ along the lines of something we call ‘plot’.
Here are some useful questions to ask to build a successful tale…

A story could be defined as a metaphor for a movement that leads to some kind of change, as played out by archetypal figures we call ‘characters’ along the lines of something we call ‘plot’. Here are some useful questions to ask to build a successful tale:1. Who is your protagonist? Through ...

05/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

TODAY: a full colour illustrated story from Honore de Balzac, A Passion in the Desert

December 1st: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
December 2nd: A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce
December 3rd: The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
December 4th: The Two Bottles of Relish by Lord Dunsany

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gifts!

Merry Christmas one and all!

05/12/2024

It might be a rare occasion (perhaps at a party) when someone finds out that you’re writing a book and asks you ‘What’s it about?’ — but when they do, what do you say?
Do you immediately launch into setting a scene and then describing the progress of a character or group of characters through it?
Do you try to describe your lead character and his or her quandary?
Do you go abstract and tell them the theme of the tale, like ‘Prejudice’ or ‘Death’, and leave it at that?
Or is it so difficult to answer that you reply ‘Writing a book? Who told you that nonsense?’ and change the subject?
Being asked a direct question like ‘What is your book about?’ could be viewed as your first marketing test as an author…

It might be a rare occasion (perhaps at a party) when someone finds out that you’re writing a book and asks you ‘What’s it about?’ — but when they do, what do you say?Do you immediately launch into setting a scene and then describing the progress of a character or group of characters throu...

04/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

TODAY: a full colour illustrated story from Lord Dunsany, The Two Bottles of Relish

December 1st: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
December 2nd: A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce
December 3rd: The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gifts!

Merry Christmas one and all!

04/12/2024

Some time ago, there was a feature in the Inner Circle Writers’ Group on Facebook called ‘Thematic Thursday’. The idea was to give a venue for the discussion of that all important element in great fiction: Theme.
Many writers immediately got the right idea and did exactly that, pointing out what their work was about underneath the plot or storyline, and getting into a conversation with others about deep and meaningful things, which was the intention. Some, however, struggled to escape from simply writing a blurb for their book, or a short summary of the story. I quickly realised that some writers have trouble with this notion of ‘theme’ — they seem to have difficulty separating it out from the ‘plot’. When asked ‘What is the story about?’, they straight away launch into a scene-by-scene description of the narrative, rather than exploring the underlying concepts which a successful story must tap into into if it is to stand out…

Some time ago, there was a feature in the Inner Circle Writers’ Group on Facebook called ‘Thematic Thursday’. The idea was to give a venue for the discussion of that all important element in great fiction: Theme.Many writers immediately got the right idea and did exactly that, pointing out wha...

03/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

TODAY: a full colour illustrated story from H. G. Wells, The Magic Shop

Yesterday’s gift was a full colour illustrated story from Ambrose Bierce, A Horseman in the Sky
December 1st: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gift!

Merry Christmas one and all!

03/12/2024

‘The writing life is not an easy one’ — a sentiment sometimes voiced by writers. To which my wife would probably reply ‘Woe is your life!’ (sarcastically) — because of course the idea of being in a position to pursue one’s dreams as a writer is a relatively blissful one, in actuality. The notion that one can just sit and create something on one’s own and then have that creation entice, entertain and perhaps move others — maybe even make money — is about as close to an ideal scene as it is possible to get for some. However, in the day to day business of doing the writing, some things arise — which is what this is about…

‘The writing life is not an easy one’ — a sentiment sometimes voiced by writers. To which my wife would probably reply ‘Woe is your life!’ (sarcastically) — because of course the idea of being in a position to pursue one’s dreams as a writer is a relatively blissful one, in actuality. ...

02/12/2024

Welcome to Grant’s Big Advent Calendar 2024!

Each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve there’ll be a downloadable gift for you available from the Clarendon House website.

Yesterday’s gift was a full colour illustrated story from Oscar Wilde, The Selfish Giant.

TODAY: A Horseman in the Sky - fully illustrated story by Ambrose Bierce

Go here

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/advent-2024

to download your gift!

Merry Christmas one and all!

02/12/2024

Something came up recently in a social media group which I thought it might be prudent to address, as many of you are probably running into it to the detriment of your careers as writers…

Something came up recently in a social media group which I thought it might be prudent to address, as many of you are probably running into it to the detriment of your careers as writers.It was the question of whether or not a writer should accept criticism based on an editor’s feedback when that ...